LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – WKYT Investigates reviewed audit logs of every search of the Lexington Police Department’s Flock camera network from January through July of this year. The review found millions of searches, many from agencies hundreds or even thousands of miles away from Lexington.
In total, the review found more than 7 million searches. Just over 63,000 came from Lexington Police. Roughly 96% came from out-of-state or federal agencies.
How agencies access the network
When asked about those numbers, Lexington Police said Flock gives officers the option to either search just their own system or conduct a nationwide search of all the systems they’re connected to.
Signing an agreement with Flock doesn’t automatically connect an agency to Lexington’s network. Police said an agency has to submit a request, which Lexington Police must manually approve.
Top 10 agencies searching Lexington’s system
The review found these are the top 10 agencies searching Lexington’s system nationwide:
- Houston Police Department — approximately 349,535 searches
- Dallas Police Department — approximately 297,199 searches
- Gwinnett County, Georgia Police Department — approximately 108,592 searches
- Louisville Metro Police Department — approximately 78,514 searches
- Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff’s Office — approximately 69,212 searches
- Michigan State Police — approximately 68,157 searches
- Texas Department of Public Safety — approximately 65,307 searches
- Lexington Police Department — approximately 63,610 searches
- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — approximately 56,558 searches
- Atlanta Police Department — approximately 53,911 searches
Lexington Police address the numbers
Lexington Police Commander Matthew Greathouse said it makes sense that agencies in larger cities with larger forces would appear in Lexington’s system more often…